Submarine, Franklin, Liberty Bell, and more!

Today we took our second field trip to the city of "brotherly love." Last month we took the kids to the Franklin Institute (science museum) and Please Touch Museum (children's museum). This morning we pulled out of our driveway at 7:40am. We encountered a little more traffic compared to when we left later in the morning last month, bur it wasn't too bad. We pulled into the parking lot next to the Independence Seaport Museum, which charged $17/ day. They advertised a $7 refund for those visiting the museum, but since we received free tickets with our ASTC membership (saved us $68 today) we didn't request the $7 parking refund. The museum was well done and had many hands on activities. We watched some men building four ships, saw many exhibits related to the navy (including their interaction with pirates), and toured the USS Becuna (submarine used in WWII) and USS Olympia (cruiser used in the Spanish American War). At the end of the day Nadia and Ian said touring those two ships was their favorite part of the day. Ian also loved manuvering a remote controlled boat (you could make it dive down under water, come to the surface as well as go forward.backward, right, and left). Nadia and Ian also really enjoyed getting an electronic tattoo (see pics below of three tattoos). It was interesting watching it "draw" on their hand and then color it in. Of course the whole thing would vanish a few seconds after it was done. Paul and I don't mind that kind of tattoo! One part of the museum focused on simple machines, which was perfect because Nadia just been studying those in science last week! It's so much better to actually use a large screw (to drill a hole in a piece of wood in the museum), pulley, wedge, etc. than to just read about them.

I had thought we would go to Franklin Court (museum located where his house used to be) and then to the Smith Memorial Playground (which is the size of 6 football fields put together), but since it was raining in the morning (even while we walked to the ships), I decided we had better save the playground for another trip. The kids were looking forward to the big wooden slide that you go down sitting on a burlap sack. We will plan another trip to Philadelphia in the fall. We walked to Franklin Court and toured the print shop and museum. The kids really enjoyed the museum's many hands-on exhibits about Franklin, his inventions, etc. In light of skipping the playground we decided to visit the Liberty Bell and tour Independence Hall. Most of the people on our tour were 8th graders from a laboratory school in Chicago. Thankfully it wasn't raining while we were traipsing around the city. The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall sites are free; so the only museum we paid to enter was Franklin Court (also run by the National Park).

This trip also represented our first use of our EZ Pass transponder. This was quite exciting for Paul. I had been to all of these sites before. It was the first time Paul or any of the kids had been to any of those places. The ships and Independence Hall obviously hadn't changed since I had been there last, but the Seaport Museum and Franklin Court museum were totally different (except the print shop was the same) than when I had taken students there previously. We'll have to  take the kids to these sites again when they are older, but we had a great day despite the weather not being that nice today (high of about 61). We left later than planned (hoping to avoid the awful rush hour traffic on the way home), but our change of plans meant we left a little later than planned. So our trip home took longer than we would have liked, but it still wasn't quite as bad as our trip home last month. Also I drove there and Paul drove home which helped me (as last time I did all the driving). We ate breakfast before we left, packed a lunch, and bought dinner on our way home. I'm thankful that we homeschool our kids and can take them on many field trips! Tomorrow night Paul is taking the kids roller skating. It's an outing for the kids at our church. I'll be at choir rehearsal while they are skating. I'm sure they'll have fun!

Favorite Rides

Over the past seven years that we have been taking our kids to Knoebels, the list of "favorite rides" has been constantly changing. Paul and I have had the same favorite ride there for the past 20 years - the Phoenix roller coaster. I have been on many roller coasters in my life (wish I had kept a life list of those), and I would rate the Phoenix in the top three of all the ones I have ridden. Initially our kids each seemed to favor the fire engine, kiddie whip, ball pit, big slide, train rides, and the car ride that goes along a track (instead of in a circle). All of those except the fire engine are still Oliver's favorites. Then once they are at least 36 inches tall the kiddie roller coaster has become a favorite for each of them. That ride no longer is much of a thrill for Nadia, but the boys still love it, and she is willing to ride it with them. The tea cup is another ride they can all ride and all thoroughly enjoy. I wish I could get a video of them on that ride. They just laugh their little heads off the entire time. Priceless. I recall taking our niece Jenna on a tea cup ride umpteen times when she was a toddler (at Six Flags in MD).

Ian's current three favorite rides at Knoebels are the Roto Jets (he rode with Grandma yesterday), Phoenix roller coaster, and kiddie roller coaster. Nadia said her favorite rides yesterday were the Phoenix and Twister roller coasters, Power Surge (she loved going upside down many times), and Super Round Up (stand up for that ride). She had ridden the last one at Del Grosso's last year, but this was the first time she was tall enough to ride it at Knoebels. I think the Impulse will join her list of favorites once she rides it.

One of the photos below is from the Grand Prix on Wednesday night. It was Oliver's first time to participate, Ian's second, and Nadia's fourth. The kids didn't win any awards for design or speed, but we all had fun. My favorite car designs were the crayon, pencil, ice cream sandwich, and bathtub with a rubber ducky. The bathtub was made by one of our neighbors (she's in 4th grade), and she did win one of the design prizes. Her brother (who is 5 and on Ian's soccer team) also won one of the design awards for his car that looked like a slugger/baseball. The ice cream sandwich car won one of the three awards for speed. Ian and Oliver each received a ribbon for completing their books, and Nadia received a plaque for completing all three Sparks books.

Opening Day

Today was the Opening Day for the 90th season of Knoebels, and it was our fourth year in a row of being there on Opening Day. We went on opening day the last three years because they offer a "buy one get one free" sale the first two days of the season. Three years ago we had to wait a long time (45 minutes) to purchase our handstamps, but the last two years we avoided that problem by purchasing our tickets online ahead of time. Although they are selling handstamps online this year, for some reason they were not selling the opening weekend tickets online. I thought if we got there by 11:15 we would be early enough to avoid the worst of the line or at least ensure that we were riding rides when the park opened at 12:00 (or 11:45 as usually they start the rides 15 minutes before the official opening time). Well we were running a little behind schedule (we looked at a house we are considering buying prior to going to Knoebels), and then we encountered a massive line of cars just to get into the parking lot so by the time we actually got in the very, very long handstamp line, it was already 11:40. I feared the line would take more than an hour because we were back farther than we were three years ago, but the line moved more quickly today. I thought we would make it through in 30 minutes, but then the woman in front of us had issues with her credit card which held us back so in the end it took us 35 minutes to get our handstamps, but still that meant we were on our way to riding rides at 12:15.

The past two years the crowds were very reasonable on opening day meaning that the lines were very short (and nonexistent in some cases). Well that proved to be true for *most* of the kiddie rides, but it was absolutely not true for the big rides. Usually they ride the Phoenix many, many times in one day. That was not the case today. Thankfully it improved the last few hours of the day or we might have been better off just purchasing ride tickets instead of handstamps. The weather wasn't really that great (in the high 50's and cloudy) although thankfully it didn't rain at all. I was amazed to discover how many people at the park today traveled five or more hours to get there. I talked to people from Ohio, Kentucky ,western PA, etc. One many told me he drove eight hours to be at the park today. Although it wasn't nearly the bargain that it usually is (when you consider money spent compared to number of rides ridden), the truth is that we didn't pay any parking, didn't buy any food in the park (we packed a lunch and used a Wendy's gift card for dinner on the way home), and between ride tickets (for me) and for the other four we spent a grand total of $63 to spend seven hours riding rides. That is a fraction of what it will cost us to spend a day at Sesame Place in June or Hershey Park next month (and an even smaller fraction of what we spent last year to spend a day at Disney), and we are going on discount days at those two parks as well. We have just been really spoiled at Knoebels in the past. We are planing to go again in June on a week day (either a Wednesday or Thursday), and we're hoping that day the crowds will be more typical of our past experiences with Knoebels.

Nadia was thrilled to be over the 48 inch mark for the first time, which meant she could ride 8 rides that she previously couldn't ride because she was too short. Also, it meant there were 7 rides she could now ride alone that previously she could only ride with an adult, and some of those rides are not ones Paul or I can handle these days so she had never ridden then. When you are 48 inches tall you can ride EVERY ride at Knoebels, and you can ride all but one ride by yourself. You have to be 52 inches to ride the Impulse steel roller coaster by yourself. She was REALLY looking forward to riding the Impulse, but she didn't want to wait in line an hour or more so it didn't happen today. Paul is not willing to ride that ride, but I was going to use $3 in ride tickets to ride it with her. This evening the wait was only 40 minutes, but at that point we were getting tired (and very hungry as it was way past our usual dinner time). We will make it a priority when we go in June. She did ride 7 new rides today, and Ian one 1 new ride just because for the last 4 years we didn't know it existed. OOPS! We thought we knew the park like the back of our hands, but they had opened a new roller coaster in October 2011 that we didn't discover until recently. Hopefully in June Nadia can ride the other rides she is now tall enough that we didn't have time to ride today, and hopefully it will be warmer so we will be wanting to do the Skloosh and the flume. The flume wasn't operating today, the amazingly the Skloosh was. I could not believe that when the temperature was below 60 degrees that some people wanted to get soaking wet and walk around the park in dripping wet clothes. Crazy!!!

Most of my pictures are of Oliver because I spent the first few hours with him in the kiddie ride area. Also, it is a lot harder to get pictures of kids riding the big rollercoasters and such. The only kiddie rides that Ian wanted to do were the big pillow (sort of like a trampoline) and the ball pit (twice). Otherwise none of the kiddie rides interested him. Nadia would have enjoyed the ball pit as well, but she was too busy riding roller coasters. It was the first time we were at the park and she didn't ride ANY kiddie rides aside from the kiddie roller coaster. Also, it was the first time none of the kids rode the kiddie fire engine, any bumper car, the ferris wheel, or either of the two carousels. Oliver still loves the train rides. The park was *supposed* to close at 6pm today, but they actually decided to stay open until 8pm because of how heavy the crowds were. The lines were even long for buying food (not that we bought any)! We lasted until about 7:15, and even though the rides were still open we were all tired and hungry as we had eaten an early lunch before we entered the park. Oliver actually fell asleep before we got to Wendy's so he didn't have dinner tonight. Oops! The rest of us ate in the car on the way home. We got home at 8:15 and put the kids straight to bed. As he was brushing his teeth, Ian hugged me and said we were the best parents in the whole world. Well I am sure that is not a true statement, but I am glad he feels that way. I am glad my kids enjoy amusement parks as much as I did when I was their age! I will post more pictures later. It is time for me to head to bed as well!

7 more days

I had decided many months ago that May 6 would be our last day of school this year, and we are taking a field trip to Philadelphia next Tuesday, which means we only have 7 days left to do "regular" schoolwork. By May 6 I believe Ian will have completed 9 of the 13 chapters of the 1st grade math textbook and 11 of the 25 lessons of the 2nd grade spelling book. He already completed the 1st grade handwriting and science books, and I didn't start him on the 2nd grade books in either subject yet although he has been doing pages from the "Draw Write Now" books lately for handwriting/art. Nadia will have completed 15 of 27 lessons of the 4th grade spelling book, 5 of the 15 chapters of the 3rd grade science book, and 3 of the 14 chapters of the 3rd grade math textbook. She will be finishing the 3rd grade (cursive) handwriting book tomorrow. She is currently in Level 1B in piano. This week she will finish learning about 40 countries in Asia, and next week she's going to work on learning about 8 countries located around Australia. Then I want her to review all the continents. I am very pleased with the progress both kids have made during this school year! Next year will be the first of actually tracking exactly how many days we have school work and maintaining a portfolio for Nadia (and having her take a standardized test for the first time). I have been keeping track of the chapter books she's read totally on her own. She's working on book #120 right now, and 40 of those books she read in 2016, which means she's on target to read at least 120 chapter books in 2016 (the goal I set in January). I am going to start Ian's chapter book list very soon as he has recently moved into those books!

I also recently came up with a chart for Ian and Nadia to complete this summer (from May 7 - August 23). I created boxes they will color in when they accomplish the task. Ian's chart includes reading 10 chapter books (each book is less than 100 pages), doing art with Nadia 20 times, and doing addition and subtraction flash cards with me 50 times. Nadia's chart includes practicing the piano 50 times, doing addition and subtraction flash cards with me 50 times, doing art with Ian 20 times, reading 40 chapter books (hers are usually around 200 pages long), doing Spanish (Rosetta Stone) on the computer 30 times, and doing a keyboarding program on the computer 20 times (she currently types about 16-20 WPM). I'm planning on take a break from handwriting, science, and social studies this summer. I also want Nadia to learn how to jump rope this summer and Oliver to learn how to ride a bike (with training wheels). I didn't make a chart for Oliver, but this summer I want to work with him on mastering the rest of his letters and numbers. As you can see from the picture at right, I have been working with him on his cutting skills lately. He loves being considered a big enough boy to do "school work." For most of the year doing a puzzle was considered to be his school work. He can now do a 50 piece puzzle by himself and up to 100 piece puzzle with some assistance. Learning is a year long process, but we will look forward to having a break from our usual routine this summer. One habit we will continue is reading chapter books. We are currently on chapter book #190 (about Amy Carmichael). The last book we finished was Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze, and the next book I plan to read to them is The Cats in the Doll Shop. We love books in this house!

Giving Thanks

 1. About an hour before AWANA started on Wednesday night Ian's car was finally finished. Whew. I hate getting things done at the very last second, but at least we finished (sort of) on time (technically a week late). It was crazy trying to finish his car at the same time as cleaning the house as our house was shown on Wednesday right before Nadia's soccer game and AWANA. There are pics of the three cars in this post. The Grand Prix race will be this coming Wednesday night.

2. My choir rehearsal was cancelled on Wednesday night so Paul and I went for a 2.5 mile walk. It was our first walk of the year. I ran three days in a row last Saturday then Sunday and Monday. Paul offered for me to run on Thursday (appreciated!), but I opted the mow the lawn for the second time this year and mulch the flower beds instead as I knew the house was going to be shown again Friday morning. It was the most convenient house showing of the past five months that our house has been on the market because we were actually planning to be out of the house when they asked to come see it. On Wednesday we had to eat dinner at a playground to vacate the house for that showing and then go straight to soccer and AWANA.

3.The weather was really gorgeous for Nadia's make-up soccer game on Wednesday night. It was ironic to think it was being made-up because the game had been snowed out 11 days before that. This morning it was definitely colder our, especially as it was windy and cloudy. Ian definitely didn't have his best game (seemed to be in "la la land"), but he did score a goal. It was the only goal his team scored. The other team scored oodles of goals on them. The opposite was true of Nadia's game. Her team scored far more goals than their opponent, and the exciting thing was Nadia scored a goal! It was her third goal over the last 4.5 years of soccer. She scored one goal when playing U6 (in May 2014), and this was her second U8 goal. This is her fourth (and last) season of U8 soccer.

4. I enjoyed opening my birthday packages from my parents on Thursday. Amazon has made it possible for my mom to shop even though the only places she has been the past four months have been home and the hospital/doctor's offices.

5. The kids enjoyed having lunch with me at Red Robin on Tuesday and Perkins on Friday. Ian enjoyed having dinner with me at the Watson Inn on Thursday night. It was his first time at that restaurant, and presuming we do move sometime in 2016, it is probably the last time any of us will eat there. We ate out far more this week than usual while using my three free birthday meal coupons.

6. Our church recently made it possible for all the congregation to have access to Right Now Media. It's awesome! At no charge we can now access many, many Christian videos. We can view them via a computer or our Roku.

7. The kids and I enjoyed the "Are you my mother" musical on Tuesday morning, and Nadia and I really enjoyed the 2 1/2 hour "Anne of Green Gables" musical this afternoon.

8. Paul did some research and found that the Williamsport High School was hosting a dinner and ballroom dancing event last night. It was $20 per couple for a spaghetti dinner, dessert buffet, and dancing. Three different bands from the high school performed most of the music, and sometimes they used CD's. It had been almost two years since Paul and I had gone dancing together. We mostly did swing dancing but also a little waltz, rumba, and cha-cha. I think we were the only guests over the age of 20 and under the age of 60 the others who came were either in high school or senior citizens. Some of the guests were ballroom dancing instructors. There was a wide range of skills and ability levels represented. They gave me a bouquet of daffodils as we left. It was our first date in more than eight months so we were long overdue. Paul's parents graciously babysat the kids for us, and Paul's mom brought me a peanut butter pie which I enjoyed this evening. Paul gave me a card and six roses. Paul's parents gave me a card and some money. I am thankful!

9. My mom had blood transfusions the past two days, and today her resting pulse finally dropped after being elevated all week. PTL! She is supposed to have her 5th of 6 chemo treatments next week.

10. I was able to run this afternoon which means that I went at least 13.5 miles a week the past two weeks.

11. The tulips are in bloom! They are my second favorite flower. I always enjoy the spring flowers!

12. Nadia and Ian did a good job singing in church last Sunday. I am grateful they have the opportunity to sing in a children's choir.

13. My parents got me some new drapes for the sliding glass door in the kitchen, and Paul graciously ironed them for me (which was not an easy task). I have wanted to replace those drapes for 7.5 years. I didn't because I kept thinking we'll be moving soon, and then once I started to think we'd be staying here I put them on my wish list. I have horrible timing, but I will enjoy them until we move.

Nadia's goal!

Ian's goal!

Are you my mother?

Are you my mother? has been a favorite of mine and also of my mom's for many years. Today I took the kids to the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes Barre to see a 50 minute theatrical production based on that book. There were four actors - a man who played the part of the dog and three women who played the parts of baby bird, kitten, and hen (plus the one who played the hen was also mother bird). The others were just included through sound effects (cow, boat, airplane, and "snort"). The kids enjoyed it. I had planned to take the kids to another site up in that area (in the fall when we saw a production at that venue we also took the kids to Steamtown National Historic Site). I had looked into a variety of museums, parks, touring a coal mine, etc., but in the end I decided to take the kids to Red Robin for lunch (our annual April trip since they give me a free birthday meal), do a little shopping, and take them to the Children's Museum in Bloomsburg (where we have an annual membership) on the way home. The play was free aside from the $1.50 parking I paid. The auditorium was packed with school kids on a field trip.



Last April when I took them to Red Robin I only bought two kids meals, but I definitely needed to buy three this year as each child polished off his or her meal. At Red Robin the drinks and sides are "bottomless" meaning unlimited free refills. Oliver didn't have any refills, but Ian had refills on his lemonade and Nadia had refills on both her apple juice and fries. After lunch we did a little shopping to make use of coupons I had for Sears and JCPenney. At JCP I bought Nadia three pair of winter pj pants (two different sizes) plus Ian a pair of jeans and a pair of corduroy pants for next year, and the grand total for those five items was $15. At Sears I got Nadia two nightgowns for this summer. We left the house at 8:15 AM and didn't get back until 5:00 PM. It was a full day! Oliver and Ian slept in the van after we left the playground. Oliver got a bloody nose there somehow. The kids are definitely a fan of field trips, especially when it means they don't do any of their usual school work although I did read them three picture books about Russia this evening, and Nadia read a couple of chapters in the third All-of-a-Kind Family book. We listened to the CD of their musical for kids' choir in the van to help them learn the songs. Nadia sang "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus" to my mom on the way there. I also worked with Ian on his four Bible verses for AWANA tomorrow night because if he says those he will have finished the regular book AND the extra credit book. Woohoo! Tomorrow is the last night of "regular" AWANA as the following week they will have their annual Grand Prix and Awards ceremony. Nadia and Oliver have painted their cars. Ian has been waiting for Paul to finish sanding his, and then he can paint it as the cars MUST be turned in tomorrow night.

Blossoms

Last May I took some photos of Oliver in one of our apple trees when the tree was in blossom while his siblings were en route to Florida with Paul's parents. I loved the way they turned out last year. Today I put the boys in a different tree. It was not the ideal time of day in terms of lighting, but it was a good start. I will try again another day at a better time of day. I am determined to get some good pics of all three kids in a tree with blossoms. I should be able to get more practice once the apple trees blossom. It was a gorgeous day to be outside. The temps actually got into the lower 80's today! Who would have thought that possible when it was snowing just last weekend! I ran today which *might* mean that I will get four runs in this week for the first time this year. I ran four times a week many times last summer/fall, but thus far this year the most I've gotten in has been three times in a week. Nadia wanted to join me, but we tried to explain she wasn't ready to run 4 miles yet. It would be fun to run with her in the future though!

Nadia and Ian sang a song at church this morning with the kids' choir. I hope that whatever church we join after our move they have a kids' choir, particularly since the kids are homeschooled. If the church doesn't have one and there are enough kids, I would be happy to direct something like that myself. If we are still living in this house in September then all three kids will be able to sing in the same choir as they are allowed to start at the age of four. In the video you will see one of the backdrops for Anne of Green Gables in the background. Nadia and I are looking forward to seeing that musical next Saturday! We won't have three kids playing soccer in the fall though because Oliver misses the cut-off by six days. He will end up being the oldest kid on his team once he starts.

Nadia and Oliver started painting their cars for the AWANA Grand Prix today. They were supposed to turn them in last Wednesday, but Paul wasn't done with his part yet. He still hasn't handed Ian's over for him to paint yet. They absolutely MUST be turned in this Wednesday. The race is in 10 days. Oliver painted his green and then added some pink and blue stripes. Nadia's looks like a retro phone handset. She is doing her's blue and pink. Ian's looks like a Yoshi (from Mario). The AWANA director's husband cut out Ian's car for him. What a very kind labor of love that was! He also cut Nadia's car into a phone, but then Paul fine tuned that one. Paul added weights to all three cars. Oliver's was pre-cut. This will be Ian's second Grand Prix, Oliver's first, and Nadia's fourth.